Circular multi-feed hosiery and method



Sept. 20, 1960 H. E. CRAWFORD CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED HOSIERY AND METHOD 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 11, 1956 HERMAN E. CRAWFORD, INVENTOR.

AGENT Sept. 20, 1960 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,953,003

CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED HOSIERY AND METHOD Filed June 11, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 HERMAN E. CRAWFORD, INVENTOR.

AGENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 7 w B 2 2 3 3 M 5 m 2 w 7 fivwIWwHw U/WH WW 5 2 w w .M w a a \LHmHLHmHMmHm LH Hm m IL H\\J/\+ Jvl HERMAN E. CRAWFORD, INVENTOR.

AGENT Sept. 20, 1960 H. E. CRAWFORD CIRCULAR MULTI-F'EED HOSIERY AND METHOD Filed June 11, 1956 UHHHHH WMMM F I BY w m Sept; 1960 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,953,003

CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED HOSIERY AND METHOD Filed June 11, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 HERMAN E. CRAWFORD, INVENTOR w) XM.

AGENT MULTI-FEED HOSIERY AND METHOD Herman E. Crawford, Kernersville, N.'C., assignor to The H. E. Crawford Company, Incorporated, Kernersville, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed June 11, 1956, Ser. No. 590,609

4 Claims. (Cl. 66-41) nvention relates tov circular multi-feed knit hosiery and more especially to a top for this type of hosiery and to amethol of knitting osiery tops on a multifeedmachine'wherein at least one yarn is an elastic yarn and one yarn is an inelastic yarn and with both of said yarns being knit at different and separate knitting stations.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel tubular fabric and method of knitting wherein an elastic yarn is knitted in spaced courses and an inelastic yarn knitted in intervening courses to form a stretchable top or welt portion of womens fine gage hosiery where the hosiery is knit on a machine adapted to knit a plurality of courses with each revolution of the needle cylinder.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tubular knit fabric top for hosiery which includes the knit ting in of elastic in a manner to prevent a ribbed appearance while allowing a maximum amount of stretch. Knitting in the elastic yarn, rather than laying in the elastic as is the common practice at present, has an important advantage in that the elastic yarn will stabilize the stitches formed of the inelastic yarn and provide the proper amount of stretch to make the hose self supporting on the leg of the wearer.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a multi-feed knit top in which the elastic yarn is knit in the top in either a straight top or a turned welt top. The elastic yarn is knit at one feeding and knitting station on only selected ones of the needles and the inelastic yarn is knitted on all needles at another feeding and knitting station to thus form a course of elastic yarn knit on only selected needles and a course of inelastic yarn knit on all of the needles with each revolution of the needle cylinder.

This improved multi-feed top may be knit on any type of knitting machine which is adapted to knit multi-feed in rotary knitting such as the one shown in my pending application entitled Multi-Feed Circular Knitting Machine, Serial Number 586,587, filed May 22, 1956, now Patent No. 2,861,440. Other machines on which this invention may be carried outsare shown in the patents to R. W. Lawson Patent No. 2,440,280 of April 27, 1948 or the J. I. McDonough Patent No. 2,576,962 of Dec. 4, 1951. Although the machines shown in the above mentioned patents as well as the machine in my copending application, are adapted to knit a complete hose multi-feed, this invention could be carried out equally as Well on any machine where multi-feed is done in rotary knitting only.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompaning drawings in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a ladys seamless hose with one form of elastic top attached thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the portion enclosed by the dotted line rectangle indicated at 2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3- is a view similar to Figure 1 except showing amodified form of top which is known as a welt top attached thereto;

Figure 4 is a greatly enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 and showing amodified form thereof;

Figure 6'is a view' similar to Figure 5 and showing still another modification thereof;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic development of the knitting. cams and yarn feeding fingers of a typical multi-feed,

hose is' usually knit so that the top T surrounds the leg' The top T is attached and knitted just below the knee. as an integral part of the hose H and is also providedv with the usual leg portion L and a foot portion F.

The enlarged diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the elastic top T is knit is shown in Figure 2:

and illustrated by courses 1 thru 18 and wales W-I thru W-S. The top T is illustrated as comprising the courses 1 thru 15 and it is to' be understood that thisv is merely an illustration and in actual practice there would probably be about to 75 courses in the top T, rather than only 15. The courses 16 thru 18 represent thefirst few courses of the leg portion L of the hose H.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8 there is shown one form of needle cam layout on which the present invention, may be carried out and the form shown in 'Figures 7 and 8' is similar to the needle cam layout in my co-pend ing application, filed May 22', 1956. It is to be understood that any other form of needle cam layout could be used where it is possible to select needles to take and knit yarn at one station and to cause all of thev needles to take and knit another yarn at another knitting station. The illustration in Figures 7 and 8 shows a first or main knitting station comprising respective right and left hand stitch came 111 and 112 and a top center cam 110.. Spaced in vertical alignment with and above the top center cam 110, at this first knitting station, is a. yarn feeding throat '37 having yarn feeding fingers 38 mounted therein. A second or auxiliary knitting station comprising respective right and left hand stitch cams, 121 and 122 and a top center cam 120 is spaced away from the first knitting station and has a yarn feeding station comprising a throat opening 40 in vertical alignment with and above the top center cam 120 and which is provided with yarn feeding fingers 46.

Each of the needles has a selector jack mounted therebeneath in a conventional manner, to cause pattern controlled vertical movement of the needles 100 as desired. The selector jacks may be selected in the manner set forth in my said co-pending application so that, with the cooperation of a jack raising cam, the needles 100 are divided and the jacks will raise the non-selected needles so that the butts thereof Will be raised above the right hand stitch cam 111 at the first knitting station. The needles 100 whose butts are raised to pass above the right hand stitch cam 111 will follow a pathway P-l so that the hooks thereof will follow a pathway P-2, in Figure 7, and take an elastic yarn E from one of the yarn feeding fingers 38 which is threaded with this elastic yarn E. The butts of the needles 100 passing above the right hand stitch-cam 111 then engage and are moved down Patented Sept. 20,1961} wardly-by theinclined surface of the left hand stitch cam 112 to draw stitches with the elastic yarn E as the needle butts pass beneath the left hand stitch cam 112. The butts of theneedles 100 which are selected to remain in a' lowered position and' pass beneath the stitchcan'r' 111* will follow a pathway P 3 beneath the left hand and hand stitch canis 111 and 112 so that the hooks of these needles 100 follow a pathway P-4 and thus rniss the elastic yarn E at the first feeding station or throat open-- ing 37. 7 V

In the illustrations shown in Figure 7 alternate needles are raised to take and knit the elastic yarn E at the first station and intervening needles remain in a lowered posi- H011 to pass beneath the elastic yarn E but it'is to beunderst ood that any desired number of needles may beselected to take and knit theelastic yarn'E supplied at the first feeding station while theremaining needles will pass below the right hand stitch cam 111 and miss the elastic yarn E. w l V '7 As the butts of the needles 100 leave the stitch 112 they are all raised by the selector jacks to follow 21 1'4' machine willchange the yarn feeding fingers 38 at the 1 throat opening 37 and the selector mechanism will opershadow welt or mock welt S islknit'integral therewith and a leg portion L's attached thereto aswellas a foot portion F. The turned welt W is formed by the useoftr ansfer hooks which are conventional ina knitting machine having a dial driven in timed'relati'on' to the'needle cylinder.

In the modifications "of the 'turnd welt W," in Figures 4, 5

pathway P-5, in Figure 7, in the manner described in my said co-pending application while the hooks thereof are raised to follow a pathway P-6 and to take thet inelastic yarn indicated at N at the second throat opening 40.

all of the needles 100 draw'stitches at the second. knlttmg station as the needle butts pass down the clined surface of the left hand stitch cam 112.

' After the desired number of courses'incorporating the elastic yarn E are knit and in order to resume'plain'. knitting, it is necessary to remove the yarn feeding finger- 38 which is supplied with the elastic. yarn E and insert another yarn feeding finger 38 which is supplied with an inelastic yarn N, in Figure 8, and to cause the butts of all of the needles 100 to follow a pathway P-8, in Figure 8, and the hooks of all of the needles 100 to follow a.

pathway P-9 so thatall of the needles take and knit the yarn N at the throat opening 37 at the first feeding stationl .After the butts of the needles 100 pass. beneath and draw stitchesunder the left hand stitch cam 112, at the first knitting station, they are all raised to follow a pathway P-10 and the hooks thereof follow apathway' P-ll so that all the hooks of all of the needles 100 take andknit the inelastic yarn N at the second throat open-. ing 40. In order to knit the fabric shown in Figure 2, the first course is knit on alternate needles at the. first knitting sta-. tion but since the loops of the previously knit article are cast off and removed from the needles, the loops drawn with the elastic yarn E at the first knitting station are straightened out as the needles are raised again along the pathway P-6, in Figure 7, and the elastic yarn E is' merely stretched around the outer diameter of the needles 100 as they approach the second knitting station. All of the needles take and knit the yarn N at the second knitting station and these loops are formed around the elastic yarn E to form a selvage or make-up with the first revolution of the needle cylinder. Thus the first course illustrated at 1 in Figure 2 is merely a straight elastic yarn E while the second course shows loops in every 7 yvale of the inelastic yarn N. As the needle cylinder and 6, the first illustratiomin Figure. 4, shows the elastic yarn E incorporated on the'in'side only of the welt W while the outside of the welt Wis plain knitting and the make-up and transfer loops are formed with the elastic yarn E. The illustration in Figure 5 shows the elastic yarn being used throughout the-welt. portion, both inside and outside-and then' aplain fabricknit in the shadows S which is a one ply or single thickness. The illustration shown in Figure 6 is similar to the fabric shown in Figure 4 except that the elastic yarn is not incorporated in the make-up or the transfer. loops of the fabric with the inelastic yarn N being used solely for the make-up and transfer loops. I 1 f,

The manner of knitting the; fabric shown in Figure 4 '5 comprises forming a first course with the elasticyarn'E on alternate needles at the first knitting station and shown in wales W-3 and W5,for-ming a second course with the inelastic yarn N on every needle at the second knitting station and thus, the firstfand second courses, made with a. single revolution ofthe needle cylinder, form' a makeup or selvage for the hose H. 'The third course is formed by alternate needles, in wales W4? and W-S, taking and' knitting the elastic yarn E at the'first knitting station and with the transfer hooks in the dial being if extended at the first knitting station so'that the elastic yarn E is laid in the hooks and held thereon by these hooks for any predetermined lengthof time until it is desired to again transfer these loops back to the cylinder needles to forma' turned welt in a conventional manner. The fourth course is knit at the second feeding station from the inelastic yarn N on every needle in the needle cylinder. This procedure is followed with alternate or odd numbered courses'being knit on alternate needles,'in wales W-3 and W-5, from the elastic yarn B and intervening or even numbered courses beingknit with all of -the cylinder needles with theinelastic' yarn N for as long as desired to produce the inside'ply of the turned welt. In the illustration shown in Figure 4,

. the inside plyyof the turned welt comprises a total of 14 '4 is formed at the second knitting station from the yarn N on every needle in each of the Wales W-l thru W-5 10 thus form stitches with the inelastic yarn N at alternate :GOUISGS or even numbered courses, in Figure 2, on every :needle while forming elastic courses on the odd numbered :COUI'SGS on alternate needles. 'This knitting is continued -'for any, desired length of elastic toptT- that isdesired courses in which the elastic yarn E is used and the'outside ply of the turned welt comprises the Courses 15 thru 29 in which only inelastic yarn is used In order to resume plain knitting in the Courses 15 thru 29, it is merelyneces s-ary to'change the yarn 'feeding finger '38 supplied with the elastic yarn E' and move into operation a yarn feeding finger 38 which is supplied with an inelastic yarnN' and to remove the selector mechanism so that the butts of all of the needles are raised to follow a pathway P-8, in Fi'gure 8,andthe hooks thereof will pass along the pathwayF-9 to thus take and draw stitches with the inelastic yarn N at the first knitting station. Thus plain knitting is resumed in the courses 15 thru 29 with the odd numbered courses being knit at the first or main knitting station withyarn N and the even numbered courses being knitat the second or auxiliary knitting station with the yarn N.

Upon the proper number of coursesbeing knit, the transfer takes place as the course 29 is knit and is effected by moving the transfer bits outwardly of the'dial over the cylinder needles in the wales 27-2 and ;apd automatic pattern controller! means onthe'knitting 15 before they reach the first knitting'station and then inwardly again after the cylinder needles 100 have been raised along the pathway P-9, in Figure 8, to thus transfer the loops held by the dial bits back to the cylinder needles. All of the cylinder needles then pass thru the first knitting station and draw stitches with the inelastic yarn N to form the course 29, in Figure 4. The course 30, in Figure 4, is formed as the hooks of all of the needles follow the pathway P-ll in Figure 8, to thus draw stitches with the inelastic yarn N at the second or auxiliary knitting station.

The fabric illustrated in Figure 5 is identical to the fabric illustrated in Figure 4 thru the course 14, therefore a further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. The courses 15 thru 30 differ from the courses 15 thru 29 in Figure 4 in that the elastic yarn E is knit in the outside ply as well as in the inside ply of the turned welt of the stocking and the needles and yarn feeding fingers will remain in the position shown in Figure 7 thru the course 29. At the transfer course 30 the yarn feeding finger 38 with the elastic yarn E therein will be exchanged for another yarn feeding finger 38 which has the inelastic N therein to form plain knitting at both of the knitting stations in the subsequent courses 31 thru 34 in Figure 5.

The fabric shown in Figure 6 is another modification of the fabric shown in Figure 4 and the courses 4 thru 33 are identical to that shown in Figure 4. The only difference in the fabric shown in Figure 6 is that the make-up courses 1 and 2 are both formed with inelastic yarns and the course 3, placed on the transfer hooks, is also formed with an inelastic yarn. It might be pointed out that the first three courses in Figures 4, 5 and 6 are the same except that regular or inelastic yarn is used at both feeding stations in Figure 6 while the knitting sequence is the same to produce the fabric shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. It might also be pointed out that the method shown in Figure 6 could be practiced on a straight top sock or hose such as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and the elastic yarn E in courses 1 and 3 of Figure 2 could be in inelastic yarn N in an identical manner to that shown in Figure 6.

It is thus seen that I have provided a novel fabric which incorporates the knitting of an elastic yarn in selected wales at spaced courses and the knitting of an inelastic yarn in every Wale at intervening courses to thus form a fabric which has very high stretchability as well as a neat appearance. Although several variations of fabric are shown, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited strictly to the illustrations shown.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. The method of producing a circular knit seamless fabric forming a turned welt hosiery top which has an elastic yarn and an inelastic yarn both of which are knit in said fabric comprising the steps of: feeding the elastic yarn to alternate needles and forming loops of a first course thereon, feeding the inelastic yarn to every needle and forming loops of a second course thereon, feeding said elastic yarn and forming loops of a third course with elastic yarn on said alternate needles and transfer hooks of a dial, knitting a first plurality of courses of loops consisting of alternate courses of elastic yarn and intervening courses of inelastic yarn, knitting a second plurality of courses of loops of alternate and intervening courses both of which are knit from inelastic yarn, and transferring the loops on said transfer hooks back to the needles to form a turned welt.

2. The method of producing a circular kmt seamless fabric forming a turned welt hosiery top which has an elastic yarn and an inelastic yarn both of which are knit in said fabric comprising the steps of: feeding elastic yarn to alternate needles and forming loops of a first course thereon, feeding inelastic yarn to every needle and forming loops of a second course thereon, feeding said elastic yarn and forming alternate loops on said alternate needles and intervening loops on transfer hooks of a dial in a third course, knitting a plurality of subsequent alternate courses of loops of elastic yarn on alternate needles, knitting a plurality of intervening courses of loops of inelastic yarn on all needles, and transferring the loops on said transfer hooks back to the needles to form a turned welt.

3. The method of producing a circular knit seamless fabric forming a turned welt hosiery top which has an elastic yarn and an inelastic yarn both of which are knit in said fabric comprising the steps of: feeding the inelastic yarn to alternate needles and forming loops of a first course thereon, feeding the inelastic yarn to every needle and forming loops of a second course thereon, feeding said inelastic yarn and forming loops of a third course on said alternate needles and transfer hooks of a dial, knitting a first plurality of courses of loops consisting of alternate courses of elastic yarn knit on said alternate needles and intervening courses of inelastic yarn knit on all needles, knitting a second plurality of courses of loops of alternate and intervening courses both of which are knit from inelastic yarn, and transferring the loops on said transfer hooks back to the needles to form a turned welt.

4. The method of producing a circular knit seamless fabric forming a turned welt hosiery top which has elastic and inelastic yarns all of which are knit in said fabric comprising the steps of: feeding one of said yarns to alternate needles and forming loops of a first course thereon, feeding another of said yarns to every needle and forming loops of a second course thereon, feeding one of said yarns forming said first and second courses and forming alternate loops on said alternate needles and intervening loops on transfer hooks of a dial in a third course, knitting a plurality of courses of loops in which at least one group of said courses consists of alternate courses of elastic yarn knit on alternate needles and intervening courses of inelastic yarn knit on all needles, and transferring the loops on said transfer hooks back to the needle to form a turned welt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,335 Powell Oct. 27, 1896 660,577 Klemm Oct. 30, 1900 2,131,720 St. Pierre Sept. 27, 1938 2,150,335 Miller et al Mar. 14, 1939 2,192,798 Page et a1 Mar. 5, 1940 2,246,194 St. Pierre June 17, 1941 2,270,088 Smith Ian. 13, 1942 2,275,248 Cloutier Mar. 3, 1942 2,339,963 St. Pierre et a1. Ian. 25, 1944 2,576,962 McDonough Dec. 4, 1951 

